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Baffin Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The trophy trout mother church: hypersaline water, ancient serpulid rocks and the biggest speckled trout in Texas swimming among them.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 2:13 AM
Air / High
93 / 94 F
Wind
ESE 18 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8775870, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Baffin Bay locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 18 mph, steady pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 94. Tides: high 12:47 AM, low 3:01 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 85 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled troutGood

First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

Tomorrow: Similar at 93 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8775870 (Bob Hall Pier (nearest open-coast)). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH12:47 AM2.1 ft
LOW3:01 PM-0.1 ft
Sat
HIGH2:13 AM2.2 ft
LOW4:19 PM-0.2 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp93 F
High / Low94 / 81 F
WindESE 18-21 mph
Pressure1011.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:10 / 19:47
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~85 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Overcast, 94/81 F, wind 19 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 19 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Baffin Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Best: spring and fall

The Gulf coast's everyday obsession: soft mouths, violent topwater strikes and a fishery that lives by tide and bait. First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

When to come: the Baffin Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 85 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~85 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Baffin Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 94 F, wind to 22 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 96 F, wind to 20 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 93 F, wind to 17 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Texas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Texas saltwater license + endorsement. Trout: Lower Laguna trophy rules: check current TPWD limits. Serpulid rocks: idle zones by ethic.

Access

Riviera Beach ramps, Kaufer-Hubert park; long runs from Corpus' JFK causeway southward.

About this water

The hypersaline trophy bay, Kleberg/Kenedy counties, TX. Home of the biggest specks in Texas.

Fishing Baffin Bay: the full guide

Sacred water

Baffin Bay opens off the Upper Laguna Madre like a legend: hypersaline, riverless, and floored with serpulid worm-rock reefs found almost nowhere else on earth. Those rocks and that salt grow the state's biggest speckled trout: double-digit dreams are legitimate here: and a culture of trophy hunters who measure seasons by single bites.

The big-trout program

Winter through early spring is the pilgrimage: slow-sinking plugs (Corkys and their descendants) worked over the rocks and mud-and-grass transitions on warming afternoons: long quiet wades, dawn starts, and the discipline to fish for one bite. The Badlands, Penascal's points and the Tide Gauge bar carry names spoken like scripture.

Rocks, drum and the rest

The serpulid reefs (idle wide: they break lower units and they are irreplaceable habitat) hold black drum schools (the bay's number-two fishery: sight-cast pods on the flats), redfish on the shorelines, and summer trout that spread across the Laguna's grass. The bay's remoteness: no town, long runs from Riviera or the JFK: keeps pressure humane.

Baffin ethics

The trophy culture polices itself: big trout are release fish here (the genetics are the fishery), photos happen in the water, and the freeze events that periodically wound the bay make every giant more precious. Fish it with reverence: Baffin is the coast's cathedral and its congregation knows.

Common questions

Why does Baffin Bay grow such big trout?

Hypersalinity, forage density and the serpulid rock structure: a combination unique on the coast. The genetics compound because the culture releases the giants.

When is trophy trout season on Baffin?

December-April, warming afternoons after fronts: slow plugs over the rocks. One bite can be the year: Baffin regulars consider that a fair trade.

Is fishing good at Baffin Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Corpus Christi29 miPort Aransas49 miPort Mansfield51 miRockport59 miSouth Padre Island85 miChoke Canyon Reservoir95 mi
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